Fatshark, a developer recognized for its technology-driven approach to game creation, today announced a strategic collaboration with AMD focused on the exploration and development of AMD’s Machine Learning Denoising (FSR™ Ray Regeneration) and Neural Radiance Caching (FSR Radiance Caching) technology. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the first title to showcase the experimental FSR Radiance Caching technology, as demonstrated in the AMD showcase.
The studio behind the acclaimed Warhammer games, Vermintide 1, 2 and Darktide, has a long history as both a game studio and a tech development company. Dating back to 2007, when Fatshark emerged from a small group of developers who built not only games, but also the foundational technology that powered them. Most notably co-creating the Bitsquid engine, a high-performance game engine that was later acquired by Autodesk and rebranded as the Stingray engine. When the studio was approached by AMD this summer, it was an exciting opportunity that Fatshark was eager to sink their teeth into!
A Philosophy of Collaboration
Fatshark sees real-time ray tracing and neural rendering as essential pillars of the future of game visuals. While these technologies are still maturing, the studio views early involvement as crucial. Not only for internal expertise, but also for helping guide the broader games industry toward more accessible, efficient, and high-fidelity rendering solutions.
This is about more than rendering; it reflects the studio’s philosophy of open collaboration and cross-industry growth. The studio’s Chief Technology Officer, Mikael Hansson, enthuses that “Technology is meant to be built and shared together. Working with innovative powerhouses like AMD keeps us sharp, encourages diversification in game technology, and strengthens the entire industry. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s a long-term investment, not just in Fatshark’s future, but in the future of gaming.”
Building for the Future
The features demonstrated in the video are not currently planned for release in Darktide’s live build. The technology is new and requires further development, optimization, and quality verification before it could be integrated into a live service game. Darktide’s technology is constantly evolving to offer players the best experience possible, for a live service game launch is not the end, but the beginning.
